Many employers wouldn’t like to talk about their employees’ finances. For them, they do their part by paying them the right wages and compensating them as much as the business can afford. But believe it or not, your employees’ financial well-being will directly impact their productivity and thus, your business. If they worry about their finances, you should worry about yours, too. Research showed that more than 29% of workers admitted to thinking about their finances while at work.
So should companies help employees with their finances? Do they have a responsibility and obligation to extend a helping hand to their workers? What can they do that won’t affect their own finances?
Identify the Problems
You do not have to call your employees one-by-one to know what financial trouble they are in. You will most likely hear about it through the grapevine. Most employees worry about their mortgages, especially in today’s pandemic economy. They worry about their credit card debts, student loans, and college tuition. Identifying these problems will help you come up with programs that can help your employees with their finances.
Offer Financial Consultation to Everyone
It’s not only your employees with present money problems that you should worry about. You need to worry about everyone in your employ. One of the things you can do is to offer expert financial consultation to them. Organizing counseling will help your employees manage their finances better. You can also hire a mortgage broker who can assist them in finding the best mortgage rates. Maybe they can even refinance their mortgages, so they’ll have an easier time paying them.
Talk About Retirement and Savings
Another stressor for employees is their retirement. How are they going to support themselves in the future? This is especially true for mid-career employees who are already contemplating the idea of retirement. There are two major types of savings you can offer your employees: retirement plans and health savings accounts. The idea is for them to learn the value of saving up for future purchases and their retirement. If you are in the position to do so, offer to match their contributions to better fuel them to save.
Set up a Payroll Deduction Program
You do not have to spend to help your employees. What you can do is set up a payroll deduction program. Through this program, your employees can purchase household items or even pay for their credit card debts with low to zero interest. You will deduct a portion of the amount they used from their bi-weekly salaries. This will stop your employees from getting into too much debt.
Incentivize Employees Who Go Beyond Their Duties
One of the best ways to encourage your employees to be more productive and at the same time, help them with their financial woes, is to incentivize them for their efforts. When they meet deadlines and go beyond what’s expected from them, show your appreciation by giving them a gift certificate for a nearby grocery or restaurant. This does not only show your employees that you value their contributions, but it might also tide them over until the next payday. Make sure never to delay the incentives as many employees count on these.
Set a Good Example
Are your financial books open to your employees? You have nothing to hide, right? You can set a good example by letting them take a peek into your business finances. This way, you can show them how you save money for future disruptions, as well as how you manage the company’s debts. When employees see you setting an example, that makes it easier for them to be more financially responsible, too.
Allow Employees to Destress
Sometimes, all it takes is an extra day off for employees to feel less stressed about their money problems. While you cannot solve their problems for them, you can offer a hand by encouraging them to take a leave so they can relax. At the very least, that will refocus their minds and help them arrive at solutions for their financial woes. Something as simple as giving them an extra day off from work shows how important their well-being is to your company.
If employees go to you for help, that means they’re on the tail-end of their options. Employees rarely want to open up to their employers about financial woes. If they are asking for help, they desperately need it. And as someone who benefits from their productivity, it is imperative that you extend any kind of assistance that you can.
